.

Sorry to all who have folllowed my garden hints over the years but time has caught up with me and I no longer feel I can keep up with changes that make life so difficult , so this is the end of the road for me after all I am now 89 and well past my active years I still have an allotment  and will keep it doing if only for some excersisement so Good bye and thank you .

update

This site was updated on 2nd June

Garden Hints for June



I hope that anyone who wanted to see my garden hints for June has managed to find them ok I am getting rather past it for the modern way but I just keep my fingers crossed.

When I started as a garden boy the Headman gave me a diary in which I was to write down everything I did. He did explain that it would not be there to tell me what to do any particular day, but would give me guidance as to the order in which to do things.
Vegetables
Make sure that your potatoes have been well earthed up so as to avoid those close to the surface going green. Runner and French beans can be planted along with sweet corn and any other plants that you have started in the greenhouse such as marrows and cucumbers. When hoeing around carrots if you can move some soil to cover the tops it will help avoid the green top that often occurs. Some early crops of broad beans, lettuce and such can be harvested; if the tips are removed with broad beans this can help clear small attacks of black fly.
If you are growing tomatoes in grow bags do be careful with the watering as it is easy to keep them too wet or too dry and irregular watering is often the cause of  blossom ends rot when you get a hard black part where the flower was on the fruit. 
The late frost in April may have damaged the foliage of your potatoes but hopefully by now they have recovered. If your garden or allotment is close to your house you can reduce any damage by spraying with cold water but it must be from a tub not from an inside tap.
Flowers
Annuals that were sown where they are to flower will need thinning to get the best from them. Any plants growing in containers or baskets will need careful watering and if you have not used slow release fertilizers will also need feeding.
Once sweet peas come into bloom they need to be picked as soon as they are out so as not to put a strain on the plant and stop other flowers forming.
Roses can benefit from a feed of high potash food which can be hoed into the surface. The foliage should be left as long as possible on spring flowering bulbs such as daffodils so as to build up the bulbs for next year. Please try and avoid tying the foliage in knots as this defeats the purpose for which nature put it there.
Sweet peas need to be kept cut so that seed does not form and stop the flowering, if you are growing them as cordons they will need frequent tying and tendrils removed. 
Lawns
Regular mowing with the blades not too low during May and June will give a good base to the lawn, a light feed of lawn fertilizer will keep the grass growing and help against moss. Do not however apply this in dry hot weather as you can burn the grass.
ts for June


These onion sets were planted on Feb.14th ,the soil was treated with garlic powder against onon white rot when the crop was lifted. The photo was taken on April 2nd , when I plant sets I always just bury them having cut all the old foliage off to stop the birds pullig the stes up. As far as I can see all the sets are growing well.May 23rd last photos added
The last photos added May 23rd still growing well. Top photo taken July 24th  onions lifted to dry.
All these pictures were taken last year. It has been so wet and I have damaged my back so am well behind this year 2020



May 10 th Sweetpeas now tied .
March 23rd Planted sweet peas most are in root trainers but a few are in ordunary pots.

Daohne Mezereum raised from seed.


Sweet pea plants ready to plant but have to wait for a decent bit of weather to be forecast. The break is natural as I grow them outside all the winter to make sure they are  hardy.

Container grown plants




As most of you will know I lost my garden when we had to move from the tied house with our employer dieing and me coming to the age  of 80. Since then we have grow most things in containers apart from things I grow on my allottment. These picture are just to show some of the  container plants.

Sweet peas

Thse are my first bunch picked 25th May which is right as I usually pick chelsea week.
I went to my allotment this morning to check after hard frost. pleased to see sweet peas still looking good. They were sown on 8th October last year.




Potatoes ready for planting after at least ten weeks chitting, I will plant them on the flat so that I have plenty of soil for earthing up  and the potatoes grow through the centre of the ridge rater than come out of the side.

2018 Sweetpeas

I sowed my sweetpeas on October 8th as I have done for many years, I have good germination 48 seedlings out of 50 seeds. I think there might be one or two to come up yet. They are looking rather drawn as with no garden or greenhouse I am very limited as to where to put them. I must single them out within a few days.
10/25/2017
I have just singled the sweet peas into root trainers, there are 51 from 50 purchased seeds. They always allow one or two extras.

The second picture taken on Jan. 6th show sweet peas breaking with out being stopped , they are been outside ever since they were put into root trainers

My latest picture taken on March 28th shows plants now, planted hoping weather stays good.
waiting to be planted once the ground is suitable.

more onion news


More pictures to show the progress pf my onion sets. Top two taken 14th April




Onion sets just starting to  show, I plant well down in the soil so that no trouble with birds, having got rid of white rot I get a good crop.